Transaction Integrity Assurance in ERP Solution using Blockchain: Architecture and Validation

Abstract

Data is the most valuable resource for any organization. Proper data handling and management requires the help of an automated tool to assist the organizations with their data. Organizations are mass producers of data as they work with many business processes each day and generate tons of data every second. For proper management of their business processes, an Enterprise Resource Solution (ERP) software is used. The ERP software offers a system of integrated applications with a shared central database. Sorting all business-critical information in a central place raises various issues and makes the ERP vulnerable. Even though there are strict access control protocols applied on the ERP, the system is still vulnerable if someone hacks into the system as an administrator as there are no automated ways to track the administrator’s actions. Single point of failure and data integrity assurance are two of the major vulnerabilities which are present in the currently functional ERP systems. As Blockchain technology is on the rise and offers immutability of records that are stored on it. An ERP - Blockchain integration can be the potential answer to cater the befalling issues in ERP systems. In this thesis, we propose a BlockERP system which will deploy a Blockchain that works in parallel with the ERP and verify its sets of transactions. The Blockchain will also keep track of all actions done on the database by only allowing the ERP to process transactions which are verified by business rules written in a specially designed smart contract (Transaction processor). We propose an ERP Blockchain integration where a multilevel hierarchical Blockchain network works in synchronization with the ERP system and offers a mechanism to validate the transactions and ensure data integrity. Our proposed solution uses a private permissioned Blockchain and proof of elapsed time consensus as they are the best fit for enterprise systems. We also propose a validation framework for such an integrated system and provided a concise method for Blockchain based Validation of transactions which will prevent any malicious user from disrupting the data and immediately detect any malicious data manipulations. The proposed validation framework has been explained using hypothetical case studies.